The anime Akane-banashi has released a new promotional video focused on the Karaku Cup arc, a student rakugo tournament that is featured prominently in the current season of the series. In addition to the trailer, the production also revealed new promotional art highlighting Akane Osaki and the competition participants.
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The story follows Akane Osaki, a young woman who decided to pursue rakugo after witnessing her father's failure during an important professional performance. Now in high school, she seeks to achieve the rank of shin'uchi, the highest title within this traditional Japanese art of oral storytelling.
New arc highlights rivalry in rakugo
The Karaku Cup arc presents new challenges for Akane within the competitive student rakugo scene. Among the featured characters is Karashi Nerimaya, voiced by Takuya Eguchi, consecutive champion of the university tournament. Akane is voiced by Anna Nagase.
The anime premiered in April on TV Asahi's IMAnimation block and also gained international distribution on various platforms. Netflix confirmed the arrival of the series with an English dub on May 17th, initially releasing the first two episodes. Meanwhile, the official "Akane-banashi Global" YouTube channel is making episodes available for free in North and Latin America.
's original manga Akane-banashi, published by Shueisha since 2022, has already received important nominations such as the Manga Taisho and the Kodansha Manga Awards. Furthermore, the work has been featured on recommended lists from the New York Public Library and the American Library Association.
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